


shit? You Were a Friend of Mine

by musings_chris



Category: Original Work
Genre: Don't @ Me, [4] likes plants, i will not, is that a thing or is it a spoiler?, no I have not properly named my characters., this story contains the big gay (TM), uhh...do I tag major character death?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:01:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23885656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musings_chris/pseuds/musings_chris
Summary: oh jeez what is this? idiots in uni that's all you need to know. one of em really likes plants.also the tab button straight up doesn't work so I am quite sorry about that.
Relationships: wait what is this?





	1. ay lmao

**Author's Note:**

> How does this website work wtf  
> I'm using this website as alternate storage, just in case.

how does this work exactly? oh there we go

“So you’re in?”[1] said, colourless eyes searching [4], who said nothing for a few excruciating moments. “Come on, [4]. Think about it, the rent’s going to be so much easier to pay, you’ll have a space to yourself—”  
“I’ve already thought about it,”he interrupted. “How about I spend a week or two here? Y’know, see how it goes.”  
“By all means,”[1] said, the glimmer in his eyes dimming slightly. If [4] noticed, he didn’t react. He stepped inside the somewhat cramped flat, silently taking in his potential new home. [1] leaned back on the doorframe, letting [4] take his time to adjust.  
[4] tread cautiously around a pile of books that bordered the entrance hallway to a space that was part-sitting room, part-kitchen. A low, island-like structure divided the two spaces. Two stools were neatly tucked under the counter on the kitchen side, and a worn, black sofa was pressed to the other side. Two large windows with deep windowsills on the far wall let in cold, grey light that illuminated small dust motes rising from the worn carpet that was once white. Where the carpet ended, another hallway started parallel to the entrance of the flat. He rounded into the small kitchen, running his fingers over the stained formica countertop, covered in notebook paper, unlabeled CDs, and various hotel pens.  
“What’s on these?”[4] asked without looking up from the counter.  
“No idea, [3] burned all those,”[1] confessed, watching from the sitting room. “[3]! What’s on those CDs?”he shouted in the general direction of the hallway.  
The homely creak of unoiled door hinges and loose floorboards announced [3]’s arrival. He looked up in surprise at [4], who returned his look with a wave.  
“[4]! I never thought you’d be willing to move in with more than like, one person?”he laughed. “I never thought you’d leave the halls.”  
“It was the renovations, you know. They never relocated anyone on my floor. This is probably my best option,”he said with a shrug.  
“No way, mate. That’s how I ended up here with these other two idiots,”[3] jested, throwing out his fist in a playful punch at [1], who quickly dodged out of the way.  
“There’s another bloke here?”  
[1] paled slightly. “I didn’t tell you about [2]?”  
“Of course I know him,”[4] said, brow knit in confusion. “I just didn’t know he lived with you.”  
“I’ll go get him,”[3] offered. “Might as well get acquainted with you new housemate.”  
“But...I know him,”[4] insisted, walking into the sitting room and turning to [1], who looked oddly nervous. “He’s the tall one, right? Asked me about how I’d feel joining a band?”  
“Yeah, that’s him.”  
A loud thud caused [4] to flinch slightly, while [1] simply sighed and buried his face in one of his hands. [4] turned to the hall to find himself faced with a person whose features looked almost entirely like afterthoughts, as if someone scaled up a torso but never bothered to make the rest of the body match. He moved somewhat awkwardly, seemingly hindered by his long, unwieldy limbs. He entered the sitting room rubbing his head while muttering about low door frames—perhaps he was simply remarkably clumsy. He smiled when he saw [4], who took a step back in order to not crane his neck. “Of course I know you! Can’t believe I forgot your name,”[4] said, turning slightly red.  
“No worries. So I see [1] convinced you to move in?”he said with a slight grin, or maybe it was a grimace. [4] glanced warily at him, wondering about just what he was getting himself into.  
“Yes, asked me to move in the first time I met him,”he tentatively jested.  
“Sounds about right, he’s a heartbreaker like that,”[2] said, shifting to lean against the wall.. [1] shuffled pointedly away from him, staring fixedly at something in the distance. [3] forced a cough. “You’ll get used to his strange humor. Anyway, which CDs were you asking about?”  
“Oh, just the ones on the countertop.”  
“I think those are some demo tapes [1] and I recorded, though I’m really not quite sure.”  
“You all started a band?”  
“Well, not officially,”[1] cut in, “That was just us screwing around.”  
“There’s potential!”[3] said. [1] raised an eyebrow, while [2] stifled a chuckle.  
“Anyway, that’s not important. I believe I told you about the arrangements?”[1] asked, leading him down the hall.  
“Yeah, you told me I’d be sharing a room with [3].”  
“Well, here it is,”[1] said, pointing him into a relatively narrow, long room. Two beds were pushed up against either wall. One of them was neatly made, the pale grey sheets ironed and a thick quilt folded at the foot of the bed. The other was hastily thrown together, a pair of gym shorts was strategically placed to cover the messier parts. A desk sat adjacent at the end of the bed, with several notebooks stacked neatly next to a fat, beige computer that had a thin layer of dust covering it. A low, grey dresser was placed against the far wall.  
“The bottom two drawers are yours. If you need more space, let me know and I’ll clear out some of the hallway closet. [2] and [3] always turn down the thermostat, so if it gets cold, feel free to grab a blanket,”[1] said, crossing the room to pat the second drawer on the dresser. “Need any help getting your things?”  
“I reckon I’ll be fine,”[4] said, slowly drawing his gaze over his new room. “But are any of you particularly opposed to some plants?”  
[1] sighed heavily, yet he still smiled. “Don’t let things get too crowded, alright?”


	2. ?????

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> what? how on earth does this website work why can't I switch the tags god damn it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh this is a thing this chapter is certified unfinished

[1] was relieved to see that [4] settled into his new home with relative ease. He had his idiosyncrasies— waking at odd hours to tend to his plants and flowers(which had now taken over the sitting room and were slowly appearing in the remaining rooms), jumping at the slightest of sounds, occasionally seeming unreachable during conversations, though he never seemed too bothered by sharing such a small space with three other people. [1] noticed that he’d set up sitting room windowsill nearest to the countertop as his little corner or hideout, covering it in the most vibrant flowering vines and potted plants he] had ever seen. Even [3], who hated flowers(and just about anything he considered delicate), was drawn to it. [1] got up from where he lay on his bed to go see if any new developments were made when [2] walked into their room, smiling to himself.   
“You always seem to find the strangest flatmates,”he commented.  
“What happened?”  
“Nothing in particular. But have you seen [4]’s plants?”  
“I was just going to see if he added any more. God knows where he gets them.”  
“I don’t think he added any there. Our window, on the other hand,”[2] trailed off, and simply pointed to the far wall. [1] turned to find several new pots lined up on their windowsill.  
“Oh, I never noticed. I never thought he’d put up that many when he first asked,”[1] confessed.  
[2] chuckled softly, though he looked slightly nervous.“I quite like it. So long as he never makes a surprise appearance at two in the morning, I think we’ll be alright.”  
“I wouldn’t worry too much. If he’s even half as thick as [3], then there’s nothing to fear,”[1] pointed out.  
“He’s not, though. He’s remarkably smart. You should get talking to him about philosophy, you know? Might even enjoy it more than me,”[2] suggested. [1] blushed furiously, face caught between a grin and a glare. “Don’t say that. You know you love my rambling.”  
“Fair. I’m trying to be serious, though. He really might catch on.”  
[1] sighed in what seemed to be an effort to act indifferent. “Can we just...not worry for a little? It’s barely been two weeks. He keeps to himself, and most importantly, doesn’t go poking around in other people’s business.”  
A knock at the door made [1] flinch and caused [2] to nearly jump out of his skin.  
“[2]! You said last night that I would be hopeless playing chess without looking at the board. Care to prove me wrong?”[3] called.  
[2] huffed out a sigh of relief, his shoulders dropping. “You’re still a lost cause,”he said dryly, shouldering the door open and slipping out. [1] waited a few seconds before following him into the sitting room. [3] sat beside the low coffee table, the chessboard set up on it. [2] awkwardly settled down on the opposite side. [4] perched on the arm of the sofa, watching them with mild interest.  
“So how exactly is this going to work?”[2] asked.  
“[4] agreed to move my pieces for me,”[3] replied, looking back at [4] for conformation. He nodded, and slipped off the sofa’s arm to sit next to [3].   
“No timer?”[2] asked. [3] nodded, and turned himself around. “You can take white this time.”  
“Pawn to C2,”he announced, and so the game began. [1] sat at the far end of the small table, struggling to follow the decisions made by [2] and [3], let alone [4]’s commentary. He couldn’t quite figure out where all the letters and numbers he called out were coming from, though he figured they must be some kind of coordinate system. [3] was the most focused [1] had ever seen him, making odd expression as the minutes dragged on. He could sense the building tension as the game went on, what with [3]’s constant shifting and [2]’s increasingly longer pauses to consider his next moves. [1] could tell he was resisting of taking advantage of his ease of play, and several times he withdrew his hand from making plays so obvious that even [1] could notice them. [3] seemed to notice this, though, and slowly grew bolder.  
By what seemed to be the closing moments, both players seemed to have abandoned not taking advantage of one another. The silence between their moves grew longer still, with [3] needing constant reminders of where his pieces were, though [4] refused to tell him where [2]’s pieces were. “That’s part of the challenge. Come on, you were doing just fine earlier,”he argued.  
“Knight to E4, then,”he said, throwing his hands in the air. [4] moved the piece for him.  
[2] furrowed his brow, staring at the board for a few moments before picking up his remaining bishop. “Bishop to F3.”  
[3] sat in silence for a minute, carefully contemplating his next move. “Pawn to A7. I believe that is check?”  
“That is,”he sighed. He sat, scrutinizing the chessboard. It was several minutes before he made his next move. “Bishop to E4—Knight taken. Check.”  
“Pawn on D3 to E4,”[3] said, seemingly having anticipated [2]’s move.  
“There’s no pawn there,”[4] said. “[2] took it a few moves ago.”  
“Bloody hell. Fine, rook to C6.”  
“[3], you’re an idiot,”[2] laughed. “Bishop to C6. Checkmate.”  
He whipped around, staring open-mouthed at the board. “I call bullshit…or not. Good game,”he said as [2] knocked over his king.   
“You did well, [3],”[2] admitted. “Imagine what it would’ve been if you could see. You’d’ve probably won that time.”  
“Things fall apart when you don’t look. Happens a lot,”[1] shrugged. [2] sighed heavily, looking utterly exhausted. [4] perked up, though, tilting his head slightly.  
“You probably think it’s obvious. I mean, it is, but hear me out. We just can’t take our attention off things for too long, and [3] just proved that,”[1] continued, uninvited.  
“There are chess masters who can win blindfolded,”[3] pointed out.  
“Explain ‘things’,”[4] asked.  
“Just about anything, you know? You’ve gotta be paying attention to just about every aspect of your life. It’s like when you’ve got a thesis to defend, and you put it off, and then you never complete it. Before you know it you’re putting off bigger and bigger things. By the end of it all, you’ve flunked your class.”  
[4] sat back, still dissatisfied. “Well, not really. The jump from your first point to your last doesn’t really make sense. It could happen, but is that as common as you imply?”  
“No,”[1] said slowly. “I was using a bit of a hyperbole to make a point. But my first case still stands. You need pay attention.”  
“To what? Anything at all? Nothing?”  
“Nothing?”[1] said, taken aback slightly.  
“Well, why do we pay attention?”  
“So you didn’t bring that up to say that we pay attention to nothing? Well. Regardless, I’d say we pay attention to what we are obligated to care for. Our work, our needs, and eventually, the needs of others, right?”  
“Which one of those are essential, though?”  
“Obviously ours. And the needs of the others are the needs of our own. We we rely on others as they rely on us—”  
“Oh, for chrissakes, will you two shut up?”[3] lamented. “I’m going out for a pint.”  
“Have fun,”[4] said, not really paying attention to him.  
“No, you’re coming along. Best not drive [2] insane, don’t you think?”


End file.
